Simeonof Island was given its first
English name in 1872, by W. H. Dall of the
United States Coast Survey. Earlier names include the
Russian Semenovsky or
Semenovskie and the
Aleut Tachkinach, Taghinak, Tikhiniak, or
Takh-kiniakh.
Gold deposits on the island were discovered by G. C. Martin in 1905. Between 1890 and 1930,
cattle and
fox ranchers used Simeonof Island, but they eventually abandoned their ranches. Cattle was returned to the island in 1960, but the herd was too large for the island and was subsequently removed in 1985. As the Shumagin Islands are historically breeding grounds for
sea otters, a
wildlife refuge was established on Simeonof Island in 1958 to protect their dwindling populations. In 1976 the
island was designated as a wilderness area, and part of the
Alaska Peninsula subunit of the
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. ==References==